Working with recruiters (part 1)

Although I'm not currently seeking employment, the reality of the current marketplace is such that it benefits all of us to be prepared to find a new job at any time. That very often involves working with recruiters.

Recruiters fall into two broad categories: corporate and third party. Corporate recruiters are usually part of an employer's HR staff, while third party recruiters belong to a company whose major business is finding employees for other companies.

There are two kinds of third party recruiters: retained and contingency. Retained recruiters typically have an exclusive agreement with the company for a particular opening, or for all openings. They are often paid a portion of their fee up front, and the balance when the search ends, and they are often paid whether or not they find qualified candidates.

Contingency recruiters typically do not have an exclusive relationship with a company. Often, they are paid only if the company hires a candidate presented to them by the recruiter. Contingency recruiters present candidates to multiple organizations, and the organizations usually use more than one contingency recruiter to help them find candidates.

If an employer uses a contingency firm, there is usually more than one such firm trying to fill that position. You may be competing with a larger number of applicants. However, if an employer uses a retained firm, you may be facing as few as three to five competitors if you make it through. It is in therefore in your best interest to find out if the recruiter is working on a contingency or retained basis.

To be continued....